To buy new or take old

[Guest La1ney]

Hi we arrive in SA on the 1st September . I'm in the process of deciding what to take with us. Could someone please let me know the cost of new adult size bicycles. Trying to decide is it worth spending the time cleaning what we have or to buy new ones. Thanks

[snifter]

If you want an expensive bike, be aware of the import taxes you could be liable for if you buy it now.

 

FWIW, there is a very good UK company which ships to Aus and it tends to work out cheaper to do this than buy in Aus. I can't recall the name off hand, but 5 minutes of online research your end will turn it up I am sure. It was discussed on here or PIO recently and surprised me but it does seem to be true.

 

Hubby takes his road cycling very seriously and has a few bikes and he plans to buy a new one before we move but is allowing a year before we ship it out to avoid the taxes on it. When you are spending a few thousand possibly its better to not take the risk. If it was a £500 bike we'd buy it from UK and ship to Aus once we are there.

 

I looked at general daily type bikes, not the top end range, around a few hundred pound make and think they are rather pricey in Aus. If we get me a new one it'll be once we are in Aus and we'll order it from the UK.

 

Wiggle, thats the UK site people seem to use. You can compare doing a simple search online using something like 'bike stores, Australia' and then working out the conversion, taxes you may have to pay and so on.

Edited June 18, 2012 by snifter

[browny]

Depends on what sort of bike you are looking for? If you are an expert cyclist then it maybe better to bring your bike with you but if its just a cheap and cheerful then then there are loads here. Gumtree is a good place and porn brokers. I know of a great one for bikes on Unley Rd.

[Guest Crushfamily]

If you want an expensive bike, be aware of the import taxes you could be liable for if you buy it now.

 

FWIW, there is a very good UK company which ships to Aus and it tends to work out cheaper to do this than buy in Aus. I can't recall the name off hand, but 5 minutes of online research your end will turn it up I am sure. It was discussed on here or PIO recently and surprised me but it does seem to be true.

 

Hubby takes his road cycling very seriously and has a few bikes and he plans to buy a new one before we move but is allowing a year before we ship it out to avoid the taxes on it. When you are spending a few thousand possibly its better to not take the risk. If it was a £500 bike we'd buy it from UK and ship to Aus once we are there.

 

I looked at general daily type bikes, not the top end range, around a few hundred pound make and think they are rather pricey in Aus. If we get me a new one it'll be once we are in Aus and we'll order it from the UK.

 

Wiggle, thats the UK site people seem to use. You can compare doing a simple search online using something like 'bike stores, Australia' and then working out the conversion, taxes you may have to pay and so on.

 

I took my Trek Madone on the plane but did have increased luggage allowance with Singapore Airlines. Thinking about it - it was just over the year but because it came in with my luggage in a bike bag customs were only interested in its cleanliness!

 

The other 9 bikes we brought were easy enough to clean and packed up small in the container in bike boxes. Plenty of Jeyes fluid is the key as it stinks as a disinfectant!

 

Am buying no1 son a new bike (another Trek) which is $319.00 here from Oxygen Cycles in McLaren Vale and was £220 in local bike shop in UK - so that is currently cheaper but this is not always the case!

 

Snifter - Hubby will be pleased to know Wiggle deliver here fairly quickly! Have ordered several things recently.

[Ashby Dicko]

I've not read this post but from the title I would say bring everything and anything. We bought it all with us including beds, cheap bikes, work tools, wardrobes, wish now i'd even bought over our old car (you'll see). it will cost you a lot more to by new than what you will get for selling things to friends, family and car boot sales.

[spanners]

Depends on hows paying for shipping. I bought everything bar the lawnmower. When you arrive you will have all kinds of financial demands who never foresaw so bringing something form the UK means its one thing less to buy here.

[IrishStew]

Hi Guys

I am really struggling with this one.

 

Most of our large Furniture is 10-20 years old and much of it might not stand up to the move. Also it is all olde worlde style as our current home is cottage style. In Oz we hope to go more contemporary.

 

I am currently negotiating with a prospective house buyer who will give me an extra £7000 on the house price for all the major items and most of the decorative items. As shipping from here is approx £5000 for a 20ft container, I reckon that by not shipping the big stuff I would be about 10k in hand. Not a lot really, but since my big stuff is at the end of life I am finding this offer attractive.

 

I have crunched the numbers - if I ignore the fact that much is at the end of its life then I agree with the idea "ship everything". But when I consider what I will need to replace over the next 12-24 months anyway, then I struggle to make up my mind.

 

Any thoughts/ideas/comments appreciated.

 

Regards

IrishStew (OH)

[Guest Paula H]

What about things you haven't got? We moved in with my parents and we now haven't got a microwave, kettle, iron, fridge, wash mach.... Should we buy here & ship or just buy in oz?

[snifter]

Irish Stew - If I was in your shoes I'd not bother shipping furniture and buy once in Aus.

 

We'll be buying a fair bit once we buy a house and defo not shipping everything from the UK.

 

I'm planning to ship personal belongings, kitchen stuff like crockery and bedding, towels, clothes and so on. Books, kids toys etc. only real furniture shipping will be bed, desk and a couple of chairs I love and we won't get in Aus.

[snifter]

What about things you haven't got? We moved in with my parents and we now haven't got a microwave, kettle, iron, fridge, wash mach.... Should we buy here & ship or just buy in oz?

 

I'd buy in Aus. You 'll have the warranty with it all then also and have it from when you arrive rather than wait for container.

[Guest Ihadtouseanewname]

We brought everything in a 20ft container and we are sooo glad the price of nice furniture here is very very expensive,you can get furniture packages from super A-mart and the likes but its cheap stuff and wont last u too long,ikea is 3 times the price here,only last week a tv doc done on ripp-off ikea,so if your furniture and white goods ie washing machine,fridge,dish-washer,dryer etc are in good condition bring them especially if ur gettin a 20 ft container anyway! We paid 5,250 euro to bring our 20 ft container and my friend brought no furniture and 15 boxes and it cost her 2,500 euro...mine seemed better value considering we everything including pegs off the line...lol..you wont sell your stuff and make enough money to replace them here new,so weigh up your options and budget carefully.

[Diane]

If we did it again, the only things we wouldn't bother bringing are wardrobes - most places have either built-ins or walk-ins (OH now has two very nice pine wardrobes for storing stuff in the garage). Stuff like toasters, kettles etc (i.e. small electrical items) you can get pretty cheaply here in places like Big W, Target etc, but bigger electrical items seem quite pricey here, and things like Dysons a lot more expensive here. Also I still haven't found any decent garden recliners here - the ones we brought with us from Argos are just about on their last legs, but I wish I'd bought a container full of them! It's the little bits and pieces that you collect over years in the UK that when you get here, you really miss - OH finds this particularly with bits from his garage!

 

Re bike stuff - OH buys most of his stuff for cycling from Wiggle as has been mentioned - but he did win a Trek Madone last year when I got him a subscription to an Australian cycling magazine so he was a very happy bunny! We actually bought our tandem from the US as there wasn't a lot of choice here, and found a really nice couple through a cycling forum who were prepared to sort out shipping etc to Oz.

[sidestep]

Bicycles. Unless you're very attached to what you have then buy new ones here. Take a look at http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/ for an idea of prices.

 

As to furniture etc, if you're bringing a container then bear in mind it won't arrive when you do so you'll be without a lot of items for a few weeks but you'll end up saving money if you can manage without them for a while. A decent lounge suite here may set you back a couple of grand for example. Mattresses seem to be hideously expensive as well for some reason.

 

When we moved over we sold everything and just brought suitcases. 8 between 5 of us. First day here was spent locating bedding and other basics. Carrying 5 duvets on a bus was interesting. Wouldn't recommend it.

[Guest Crushfamily]

Bicycles. Unless you're very attached to what you have then buy new ones here. Take a look at http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/ for an idea of prices.

.

 

Why? It is not hard to clean stuff up? Adult bikes are more expensive here - all my Aussie cycling mates buy from Wiggle!

[IrishStew]

consensus - what consensus???

 

Great to hear all the thoughts.

IrishStew (OH)

[Guest Ihadtouseanewname]

Sorry wasnt thinkin wen i said we brought everything (which we did) and glad we did,we sent our container 7 weeks before we flew out so it arrived the same week as us,so i wasnt in that position that we had to buy stuff to do us till we got here,we stayed with family before we flew cos i didnt want to hav to wait on our container to arrive,it worked out perfect for us :-)

[Juliahemingway]

I wish we had brought everything! We brought next to nothing and it cost us a fortune to set up! Delivery fees here cost almost as much as the furniture itself! Quality is also generally higher if bought in UK, Ireland etc

[sidestep]

Why? It is not hard to clean stuff up? Adult bikes are more expensive here - all my Aussie cycling mates buy from Wiggle!

It all comes down to how much spare room you have in the container and how attached you are to your current ride I suppose. Cleaning is easy - a couple of minutes in a jetwash is all that's required (and a good lube job once the bike is here).

 

As to buying from Wiggle, I guess that's ok until you have (unlikely) to make a warranty claim. Same as buying anything from abroad. Buying here however gives you accessible warranty and personal customer service.